AnthonyNunes.com - Toxins and Toxicity

Most people immediately think of toxins as things coming from outside the body, like pesticides and prescription drugs. But the truth is most of our toxic load comes from the body itself. Normal healthy metabolism produces lots of metabolic waste products, just as a factory will produce industrial waste. Abnormal metabolism produces even more toxins. In fact detoxification is the biggest single item in our biochemical budget, not only to handle outside toxins, but to get rid of metabolic products like used hormones and neurotransmitters. Otherwise, these can build up in the body and cause cellular malfunction and disease.

At some point, we have to get rid of nearly every molecule that the body encounters. To do this, our detoxification system involves a complex process to render a molecule inactive. This system is entirely dependent on the foods we eat for the raw materials it needs.

Our detoxification systems are designed to keep us in good health. Problems occur when we eat poor diets and fail to supply the system with what it needs, or if we overload the system beyond its capacity with too many toxins. In today's world, virtually every American is in some degree of toxic overload.

To achieve optimal health we have to nutritionally support the detox systems, and reduce their load to a manageable level. The first step in learning how to reduce our toxic load is to recognize that the tens of thousands of man-made chemicals that make our every day living possible are not harmless. Many of these chemicals are invisible, odorless, and tasteless so we may not even be aware of their presence. We are exposed to toxic man-made chemicals that come from everyday items like magazines, newspapers, carpets, pillows, mattresses, clothes, cosmetics, toothpaste, and processed foods.

Toxic chemicals are responsible for many of our 20th century disease problems and especially the new syndromes that mystify our doctors. Fatigue, headaches, digestive upsets, flu-like symptoms, aching joints can all be caused by environmental chemicals. High blood pressure and even fatal cardiac arrhythmias can be caused by chemicals ranging from solvents to pesticides. People who wake up feeling sluggish may not realize that the cause is right under their nose, the polyester chemicals coming off their pillow.

What's Behind the Shine?

Everyone likes a clean home, but few of us like the chore of cleaning. Even worse, we often rely on a cocktail of hazardous substances to make our bathrooms sparkle or our floors shine. Dishwashing detergents often contain phosphates that pollute the groundwater; wood polish generally contains flammable toxins like nitrobenzene; and laundry detergent may contain bleach and other corrosives. We lock these compounds away in closets or under the sink to keep them from our children—but we often don't consider what they may be doing to our own bodies.

Even as they help us pick up dirt and dust, many modern cleaners irritate our skin, eyes, and lungs. They can also leave toxic residues or pollute the water when we rinse them down the drain.

PCBs are found in drinking water, fish (especially farmed fish), meat, and milk. In July 2003, the Environmental Working Group released a report stating that farmed salmon purchased in the United States contain the highest level of PCBs in the food supply system. They reported that farmed salmon have 16 times the PCBs found in wild salmon, 4 times the PCBs in beef, and 3.4 times the PCBs in other seafood. Most of the salmon on the market is now the farmed variety. Know what you are eating!

Flame retardants are found in fish, drinking water, cow’s milk, mother’s milk, clothes, mattresses, electronic appliances, and furniture. These retardants are used to make furniture, foam, and electronics and are now showing up in human breast milk. In fact, American women were found to have the highest levels in the world, 10 to 20 times higher than European women. These chemicals are now everywhere, contaminating the air we breathe in our homes, cars, and workplaces. Anywhere from 5 to 35 percent of products like carpets, draperies, sofas, foam upholstery, appliances, TVs, and computer components consist of flame retardants. These chemicals are being found in household dust that people are breathing, and some of the highest levels have been found in the dust near computers.

Still another problem is fluoride. Fluoride suppresses thyroid function and also directly damages brain cells. The effects on brain function are both severe and cumulative. Studies have shown that children born in high-fluoride communities have lower IQs (ten-point drops) and fewer really bright people than those born in low-fluoride communities. Fluoride is found in tap water, toothpaste, soft drinks, fruit juice, and almost all processed foods. Fluoridated drinking water also does something else. Because of its chemical activity, fluoride doubles the amount of lead in tap water. Even in very small concentrations, lead will damage brain function, causing problems with learning and behavior. Lead is well associated with crime, violent behavior, substance abuse, and hyperactivity.

Ordinary toothpaste is more than a minor contributor to our modern epidemic of chronic and degenerative disease. Something as simple as toothpaste can be "the straw that breaks the camel's back." Are there toxins in toothpaste? You bet! And they are highly bioavailable. Just read the box on an ordinary tube of toothpaste. You will find a government required warning label that reads something like, "If you accidentally swallow more than the amount needed for brushing, seek professional help or contact a poison control center immediately." Why a poison control center? Immediately! Because ordinary toothpaste contains a list of highly toxic chemicals that are dangerous to health and can even kill a small child.

An often overlooked, but extremely important source of toxic material is the mercury from silver [mercury] amalgam fillings. Wow, what a great idea. Let's take one of the most toxic elements on the periodic table and put it in people's mouths. That's exactly what dentists have been doing in the United States for decades, as they've been filling dental cavities with none other than mercury. Of course, they call them "silver" fillings, but they're really a combination of silver and mercury, which is, again, one of the most toxic substances on the periodic table of elements. Mercury is known to promote Alzheimer's disease, dementia and other nervous system disorders. It reduces reproductive function, causes birth defects, depletes immune system, cause an increase in number and severity of all allergies, and will cause single strand breaks in DNA. When it comes to removing mercury, many dentists don't know how to properly remove it from your mouth. If you have mercury fillings and want to remove them, make sure you choose a dentist that is fully educated in the safest process.

What can we do to protect our health?

Short of going back to living in mud huts, what can we do to protect our health? The answer is a lot! We can minimize our toxic loads. We can supply our body's detoxification systems with the raw materials they need to operate efficiently. This means eating a varied diet of fresh, whole organic foods, avoiding processed foods, and foods with known high toxic contents like meat and dairy. We can supplement our diet with high quality nutrients like folic acid, vitamin B6, magnesium, essential fatty acids, vitamin B12, methionine, reduced glutathione, alpha ketoglutarate, dietary fiber, and vitamin C. Minimize toxic loads by avoiding pesticides, prescription drugs, tap water, and packaged foods with their additives and packaging chemicals. Don't breath the fumes when putting gasoline in the car. Buy clothes, furniture, carpets, bedding, and personal care products made from all natural materials.

By getting adequate nutrition and avoiding toxins, the average person can reduce their toxic load to where their body can handle it, thereby pushing their personal equation toward health. To support you in this, Beyond Health spends an enormous amount of its resources constantly searching for the best and safest products including toothpaste, shampoo, and vitamins. We do this without any grants or donations and ask only that our customers buy from us the high quality products we identify and make available.

Toxins Are All Around Us

What can we do to protect our health?